Patna admin responds to ‘vote theft’ row after MP Shambhavi’s viral video shows ink on two fingers

Bihar Election 2025: Patna administration has issued a clarification after LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Chaudhary stoked a controversy by showing ink marks on both her fingers following her vote.

But before we look at what the administration has said, here’s a quick look at what happened, and why social media was abuzz with “vote theft” allegations.

After casting her vote on November 6, Shambhavi and her family posed for pictures. Initially, she showed the inked finger on her right hand, and moments later, she raised her left hand showing the poll ink mark. This came after a brief animated exchange with her mother, during which she was apparently asking which finger to show. The video of the incident, as expected, soon went viral, with users alleging she had voted twice during the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election.

Congress shared her pictures on social media and claimed that she had committed “vote theft from both hands”. National spokesperson of RJD, Kanchana Yadav, too, shared her thoughts. She posted the video on social media and called it “a whole new level of fraud”. 

“This is a whole different level of fraud going on,” Yadav wrote on X (formerly Twitter), before adding, “These are LJP MP Shambhavi Chaudhary. Ink is applied to both hands. Meaning, they voted twice. When this matter came to light, their father Ashok Chaudhary was signalling them with eye gestures.”

She tagged ECI and its spokesperson, asking, “How is all this happening? Who will investigate this?”

Following the viral video, the Patna administration launched an inquiry into the matter. The presiding officer at the booth provided a clarification, which the Patna Administration later shared on social media. 

“A video is being circulated on social media regarding ink marks on both fingers of MP Shambhavi after casting her vote. In this connection, inquiries were made from the Presiding Officer of Polling Station No. 61, Sant Paul’s Primary School, Buddha Colony (Northern Room of the Main Section) of 182-Bankipur Assembly Constituency,” District Administration Patna wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The administration added, “He has clarified that the polling staff responsible for applying ink had mistakenly applied it to the finger of the right hand. After the intervention of the Presiding Officer, ink was also applied to the finger of the left hand,” before clarifying, “It is being clarified that the M P Shambhavi cast her vote only at Serial No. 275 of the voter list of Polling Station No. 61, Sant Paul’s Primary School, Buddha Colony (Northern Room of the Main Section) of 182-Bankipur Assembly Constituency.”

Voting for phase 1 of the Bihar election 2025 was held across 121 constituencies on November 6, and the remaining 122 constituencies will vote in phase 2 on November 11. The results will be declared on November 14.

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